Menus Master v2.5 is the latest major release of Menus Master; it features new functionalities that make it even more productive.

Menus Master v2.5 iterative authoring process allows artists to start from a basic user interface and upgrade it until obtaining a cutting-edge user interface, without having to restart from scratch. Artists can test and try the user interface they are authoring at any time, in real-time WYSIWYG conditions, to make sure they obtain the expected result.

Moreover, artists can create a user interface for several platforms at the same time, thanks to Menus Master’s unique platform specific dedicated resources system, which allows to define, for each object in the user interface, specific resources according to each platform.

“Our goal with Menus Master was to remove all technical constraints artists can encounter while authoring a user interface” said Sébastien Kohn, Sales & Marketing Director for Omegame, “with this new version of Menus Master, there are no more limits to artist’s imagination”.

“We carefully analyzed hundreds of video game user interfaces, and listed all what artists need to efficiently create any kind of mechanisms encountered in user interfaces” explains Nicolas Perret, “you can for instance create a complex 3D carousel in less than 5 minutes”.

Menus Master v2.5 also strongly reinforces the technical advance of Menus Master: videos, webcam, and render targets can be applied on any number of 3D objects. Render targets then also allows to display dynamic texts, Flash files, dynamic sprites on any number of 3D objects.

Menus Master is very well equipped for text handling and Localization; Menus Master supports Unicode, and offers a robust set of tools for adjusting font and text layout.

“The importance of the user interface in video games is often underestimated; efforts are generally concentrated on other aspects of the game” explains Sébastien Kohn, Sales & Marketing Director for Omegame, “however, the user interface is critical; it is the first contact a player has with the game, and he has to deal with it every time he plays the game. With Menus Master, video game developers are guaranteed they have the best tool to make the best user interface”.

Menus Master v2.5 will be demonstrated for the first time in the Khronos theater booth on Tuesday March 6 at the Game Developers Conference 2007 (GDC). The Omegame team will show how COLLADA eases the authoring of 3D user interfaces with Menus Master. Menus Master v2.5 will then be demonstrated on Thursday March 8 and Friday March 9, at Omegame’s booth (see map), in the Game Connection area, in the Gateway Ballroom.